Now six

Six years may be a near-eternity in a dog's life, or it may simply be another day insofar as thinking about six years requires a sense of time that does not seem to be the strong suit of any dog.  For us, though, each year is a benchmark of sorts that calls for some reflection on both the dog, you, and where you have been together.

At six, Larsen is a strong, stout Welsh Springer Spaniel.  He's on the cusp of earning some Master Hunter legs.  His muzzle is greying, but he can still work all day and then get the puppy-crazies after dinner in the back yard.  

Larsen and I know each other well now.  I can read his face, which for the most part is an unaffected open book.  I understand his plaintive mewling that expresses the unfairness of the world when I take Zelda into the field or plant birds for another handler while he is crated in the back of the car.  I'm used to the change in his look from a silly dog to a business-like pro when we take the field together.  I know that when I travel, he will give a most hopeful look that seems to promise he would be of no trouble whatsoever if only he could be included in my plans.  I know from experience that capitulating to that look means that Larsen pockets whatever promise he might have made and reverts to his own spaniel-curious and inquisitive self.

Larsen is still somewhat willful and hard-headed, with that soft spaniel center.  Still a reserved dog, Larsen will now hunt for Tim, which represents a remarkable evolution.  In working with Larsen, Tim concluded that you have to approach a Welshie from the side, so to speak, and not head-on if you hope to get that dog to work for you.  The Welsh warms up to you on his own schedule.  

Larsen is more open to affection than he was as a puppy and younger dog.  Unlike many of the breed, Larsen's not terribly interested in your lap or sharing your bed.  He keeps his own counsel, or as David the dog-walker says, he marches to the beat of his own drum.  But with each passing year, he has become a warmer dog.  His looks to me or to Aki show an unabashed love, as do ours for him.

 Suddenly the veteran. Puppies are eager to meet the big dog.

Attentive at the water.  Afield, Larsen is all business.

In the ring, Larsen concludes that it's not work if you are with someone you love.